People often make the mistake of waiting to buy a home until they have enough money to not just purchase the house itself but also pay for any and all changes that they want to make to it at this current point in time. Suffice it to say that this is not a viable way to go about things, since your desired house will continue to get more expensive and it might become unaffordable for you if you wait long enough without a shadow of a doubt.
As a result of the fact that this is the case, you should just bite the bullet and buy a house whenever you can. The changes that you desire can always be made at a later date, and Chicago has plenty of amazing service providers that can help you out with the remodeling process. We would strongly recommend that you start by remodeling your kitchen, and choosing the hardware and appliances that you want to install should be done first because the rest of the design will be based around them.
These appliances will also have a specific look and feel that allows you to use them as a template. You should also consider zeroing in on the materials you want to use. These are the things that will form the biggest chunks of your overall expense, so knowing how much they will cost at the very start helps you plan the rest out accordingly. You will never go over budget if you focus on deciding on these things prior to any subsequent choices, and if you find that your budget is getting strained you can switch to cheaper options.